Automobile hood latch adjustable keeper



June 16, 1942. w. H. KRAusE AUTOMOBILE HOOD LATCH ADJUSTABLE KEEPER Filed Aug. 2, 1940 Patented June 16, 1942 AUTOMOBILE HOOD LATCH ADJUSTABLE KEEPER Walter. H. Krause,. Chicago, lll., assigner to Chicago Forging & Manufacturing'Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois ApplicationAugust 2, 1940, Serial No. 350,048

12 Claims.

My invention relates to an improvement in latch structure for the hinged closure of an automobile hood and more particularlyffto an improved` combined centering member and keeper for such latch structure.

Another purpose is the provision of. improved means for adjusting such ycentering member and keeper in relation to the hood or hood closure upon which it is mounted.

'Other purposes will appear from time to time in the course of the specification and claims;

I illustrate my invention more or less diagrammatically n the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section;

Fig. 2 is a section on.. theA line 2 2 of Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectionsimilar to Fig. 1, withY parts in locked position; and' Fig. 4 is a partial section similar to` Fig. 1, illustrating a variant form of adjustment.

Like parts are indicated by like symbols throughout the speciiication .and drawing.

Referring' to the drawing, I generally indicates an automobile hood,.and` 2' a closure therefor, transversely and horizontally hinged at the rear end, the hinging being not herein shown. It will be understood that any suitable." mounting hinging for theV rear end of the closure may be employed.

Mounted on the hood I is a member, which I may call a' bottom` plate, generallyindicated at B, and secured to it by any suitablebolts orscrews, as at Il The plate 6 may, if desired, be mounted for adjustment in a horizontal plane, any suitable loose'i'it or slot being employed in connection with the bolts or 'screws 1. Mounted on the lower side of the platev 6, I illustrate a latch member I4, shown as formed of sheet metal, mounted on or forming part of a lever structure I5, pivoted as at IIV for rotation about a Vertical pivot and'urged by lany suitable spring toward latching position.

20 indicates any suitabley operating.` rod whereby the latch member I4 may be actuated, for example by being Vwithdrawn from latching engagement with the below described.; keeper. Any suitable operatingV means for the rod. 20 may be employed, for example a handlev or knob located adjacent the instrument panel of the vehicle in a position convenient to the drivers seat, and not herein shown, as it does not of itself form part of the present invention.

22 indicates a transversely extending plate mounted on ther hood closure-2, for example upon intermediatebracketsl 23;. secured upon the inturne'd' lower edges or anges 24 of the hood' closure 2. It will be understood, ofcourse, that any `suitable securing and supporting means may' be employed. I illustrate the member 212v as mounted for adjustment -in a horizontal plane.

I may, for example, provider adjusting slots 25, through which pass any suitable securing bolts or screws 26 whereby the member 22 is secured upon the inner flanges of the brackets 23. The transversely extending'member 22 maybe offset as at 2T, which offset may serve as a reinforcing means and is not in general essential'. Upwardly extending edge' flanges' 28 mayV also be provided.

Mounted on the upwardly offset central portion 64 is a combined lcentering and locking keeper 29, which may'for example be formed of' rod stock, screw threaded as at 30', and held in position by being screw threaded into a fixed nut 3|, which may form part of or be welded or be otherwise secured to thei top of the plate 22. In the form of Fig. 1 it' will be noted' that the nut 3| is secured to the top of' the plate 22, and a locknut 32 is screw threaded on? the screw threaded portion 30 of the stem, and may be employed to lock the keeper at any desired ad'- justment' by simply being drawn up against the bottom of the' plate 2'2. In theV form of Fig, 4 the relationship is reversed', and a fixed-nut 31a is secured to the bottom of the plate 22, and the movable locknut 32a may bedrawn down against the top of the plate" 22. InA each form of the device the keeperV stem hassecured or formed. at its lower end a Spearhead or downwardly pointed cone 33, having a generally horizontal upper ledge. or locking.' keeper portion 34, adapted to receive the lever or locking member I5, for example when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 3;

For ready adjustment I provide at the lower end of the cone 33 a slot 35, Vwhich may receive a screw driver, or any other -suitable tool. It will be understood, of course,` that this slot'is merely onevexample, and a variety of sizes and shapes of apertures or indentations may be formed, what being essential is that some means for readily securing the hea-d or cone with a tool should be provided; However, I nd it desirable to provide the aperture or yindentation at the lower end or point of the cone, as shown in the drawing herein.

In order initially to raise the member or clo-` sure 2, I illustrate as opposed to the plate 6 a generally cylindrical upwardly extending member'III, with `a partial top closure' 6|-, centrally apertured as at 62 to admit therethrough the pin of the keeper 29. An outward bottom ange 6Ia abuts against the top of the plate 6. As will be observed from Fig. 3, the head 33 is located below the bottom of the cylinder 60, when the parts are in locking position, but the internal diameter of the cylinder 60 is suicient to permit the head to extend upwardly therethrough, as when the parts are in the unlocked position in which they are shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The cylinder 6I! serves as an abutment or a guiding and positioning means for a coil spring 63, which is compressed between the top surface of the plate 6 and the bottom surface of the plate 22 when the hood is closed, as shown in Fig. 3. The upper plate 22 may be slightly recessed, as at 64, to receive and guide the upper end of the spring 63.

I provide a secondary or safety latching means which includes a lever o-r hook 4I With a latching or hook portion proper 42. The hook member is pivoted as at 43 between ears which may be downwardly struck from the upper transverse plate 22. Any suitable means may be employed for urging the hook 42 normally into vertical alignment with the securing lip I2. I illustrate for example a coil spring 45. 'I'he hook is provided also with a finger or handle piece 46, preferably formed integrally therewith, the purpose of which will later appear.

It will be realized that, Whereas I have described and illustrated a practical and operative device, nevertheless many changes'may be made in the size, shape, number and disposition of parts without departing from the spirit of my'invention. I therefore wish my description and drawing to be taken as in a broad sense illustrative or diagrammatic, rather than as limiting me to my precise showing. For example, whereas I have shown a specific spear shaped rod, it will be understood that variations in form, shape and material may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

It Will also be understood that, whereas I have shown the keeper as mounted on the hood closure 2, the relation of the parts may be reversed, and it may, instead, be mounted on the hood I. It will be understood that I wish my claims to be interpreted with suicient breadth, unless specically limited to the contrary, to cover such reversed arrangement.

It will further be understood that, where in the claims I use the terms nut or fixed nut, I wish such to be interpreted with sufficient breadth to cover any screw threading of the plate, or of a nut or part xed to the plate, or of a combination of the two, what being necessary is that there is a sufficient length of threading rmly to hold the screw threaded portion of the head.A

The use and operation of my invention are as follows: Y

Referring to the form herein, I provide a compact structure for carrying a lock or latch which holds the closure portion 2 of the hood in nal locked position, and an additional latch 4I which permits a limited upward movement of the member 2. For lifting means I provide a spring 63, and a cup-shaped member 60 surrounding the rod 29.

When the member 2 is moved into the closed position in which it is shown for example in Fig. 3, the lever I5, including the latch portion I4, is urged into locking position by its controlling spring, and the parts are firmly locked. When the operator releases the lever I5 by pulling on the' rod 20, the spring means 63 are eiective to raise the member 2 a predetermined distance. This distance is preferably sufficient to permit the hand of an operator to penetrate beneath the lower edge of the member 2 easily, to contact the -handle 46 of the supplemental catch 4I. The operator can then, by one unitary movement, lift the member 2 and at the same time rotate the handle 46 sufficiently to move the hook 42 out of vertical alignment with the abutment ledge I2 of the plate 6.

Note that the conic head 33 merges into a cylindrical portion 33a of a length sufficient to engageand provide a proper bearing with the downturned flange 8 of the plate 6. Note that this flange 8 need not entirely surround the aperture penetrated by the head 33, as the latch member I4 cuts in' at one side or end of the aperture. The cylindrical portion 33a of the head 33 engages the ange 8 at diametrically opposed sides of the head. The length of the aperture 9 of the plate 6 permits a certain relative movement of the guiding head and the lower plate 6 in a longitudinal direction. This is important in connection with theV upwardand downward movement of the closure, and particularly Where lever supports, compound hinges, or the like, are employed for the rear end of the hood.

In the operation of this device, if it happens that an operator, lling station attendant, or the like, does not slam the member 2 down sufficiently far to move the parts into locking position, no risk of accident is involved if, as the vehicle starts, wind pressure is sufficient to raise the hood, as the safety latch or hook 4I will permit only a relatively slight upward movement of the member 2. However, the lifting movement will be sufcient to be apparent to the operator, who can then stop the car and rmly close the member 2; It is advantageous that, when the member Z'is closed, no outsider can normally obtain access to either the latch lever I5 or to the supplemental catch 4I. It is only when the operator releases the lever I5 by pulling on the rod 20 that an outsider can have access to the handle 46, and may thereby lift the member 2. Thus, if the vehicle is locked, with its doors closed, it is safe from any normal tampering.

The aperture or slot 35 provides a convenient means for adjusting the keeper, which adjustment is important in connection with ready and elicient locking of the device. Adjustment may be made at the time of assembly, or it may later be corrected by the user or byv a garage attendant, or the like. All `that is necessary is that the nut 32 or 32a be loosened, and that the cone and keeper be rotated by any suitable tool having a part penetrating the slot 35. If a simple slot 35 is employed, as shown, then a screw driver is all that is necessary. If it is desired to maketampering with the adjustment less easy, a special tool or fitting may be employed, with a special shape of aperture 35 provided to fit the particular tool. It will be understood, of course, that a wi-de variety of apertures or notches or indentations may be employed, it being important, however, that they be so located as not to disturb or affect the guiding or centering function of the conic head 33. Whether the form of Fig. 1 is employed, or the form of Fig. 4, all that is necessary to initiate the adjustment is to loosen the nut 32 or 32a. It may be convenient to have the nut 32a located above the top of the plate 22, but I find it convenient to employ it below or withinthe spring,v asathin wrenclror toolmay be inserted quitefreadilythreugh the-.coilsgofthe spring, sincewhen the closure 2 is raisedgthe coil springis extended, as shown in- Figs. l and 4, and access to the nut 32is easy.

I claim:

1. In locking means for an automobile hood having hingedly connected members, with latchpart mounting members on the respective hood' members, one of said mounting membersrbeing superposed over the other when the hood is in closed position, a combined centering member and keeper mounted on and'verticallyadjustable in relation to one of said mounting members, the other mounting member being apertured to receive said keeper in guiding relationship, saidkeeper including a stem and a head, said head having a -portion adjacent the outer end ofthe stem of-substantially greater diameter than"v the head, and having a downwardly'and, inwardly converging face and an adjusting aperture, adapted to receive a tool forrotating the stem, the mounting member on which saidgstem is mounted having a screw threaded aperture adapted to receive said stem, said stem having a screw threaded ,portion adapted to penetrate said-screw threaded aperture, and Ia locknut on the screw threaded portion of said stem, whereby when said locknut is released from contact with an opposed portion of the mounting member, said stem may be rotated for vertical adjustment by the insertion of atool into the aperturein the head.

2. In locking mea-ns for anautomobile hood having hingedly connectedY members, with a I latch-part mounting plate on one of the hood members, a combined centering member and keeper mounted on and vertically adjustablein relation toV said plate, said member'having a downwardly and inwardly converging face and an adjusting aperture adapted to receive a tool'` for. rotating the keeper,- a nut xed on said plate, the keeper including a screw threaded portion adapted to penetrate the aperture of vsaid'nut, and a locknut on the screw threaded portiongof the keeper adapted for locking engagement with an opposed face of the plate.

3. In locking means for anrautomobile hood having hingedly connectedmembers,v with a latch-part mounting plate on one ofthe hood members, a combined centering member and keeper mounted on and vertically adjustable in relation to saidplate, said memberfhaving; a downwardly and inwardly converging face and an adjusting aperture adapted to` receive a Vtool for rotatingthe keeper, .a nutXed on said plate, the keeper including a screwthreaded; portion adapted to peentrate the aperture of saidnut, and a locknut on thesorew threaded portion of the keeper adapted for locking engagement with an opposed face of the plate, said xed nut being secured to the face of the plate opposite to the operative end of the keeper, the locknut on the keeper being positioned on the side of the plate opposite to said fixed nut.

4. In locking means for an automobile hood having hingedly connected members, with a latch-part mounting plate on one of the hood members, a combined centering member and keeper mounted on and vertically adjustable in relation to said plate, said member having a downwardly and inwardly converging face and an adjusting aperture adapted to receive a tool for rotating the keeper, a nut xed on said plate, the keeper including a screw threaded portion adaptedi to. penetrate e ther aperture; or; said nut; and 1a locknut-onitheefscrewfthreaded pertionzef the keeper adapted VforJ locking engagement; with an opposed; facegof thegplate, said xednut bei-ng secured tothe side oi the plate on which the operative end ofithe keeper isi located, the` locknut bn the keeperbeing positioned on the.; side of the :plate opposite saidfxed nut;

5. In lock-ing means for an automobile; hood having hingedly connectedV` members, withJ a latch-part` mounting plate onY one, ofl the hood members,` a combined; centering: member and keeper .mounted on and vertically adjustable. in relation to4 said plate, saidkeeper.; including. a stem and a head, thehead-` havingaf-portion; ad.- jacent the outerend of the stem-pofsubstantially greater diameter, than the; head, and having,` a downwardly' and inwardlyfconverging face-and an adjusting-- aperture; adapted to receive a: tool for rotating the keeper, a nut fixedV on said plate, the keeperr including a screw threaded g portion adapted" to penetratethefaperturegof saidH nut, and a locknut'onathegscrew threadedportion-of the keeper adapted for"locking-,engagementwith anopposed face :of thegplate;v

6. In a vehicle hoodflatchassembly for a movable hood; having' a; latch-and a keeper, apair of transversely extending; mounting members, one mounted on the hood andl the.; other`- onastationary part of the-vehicle, said mounting members being adjacent and superposed whenV the hood is closed',` the keeper having means-fior mounting -it -for-l generally-Vertical adjustment in relation to one-mounting-member, the other having anfaperture to vreceive-im said-keeper including astem anda downwardly andfinwardly'lbeveled1head-having ashoulder at 'then-top, the-head having anV adjusting aperture V`adapted tov receive a tool `for rotatingsthestem, the shouldered part of thehead being of substantially greaterv diameter-thanthe stem and providinga` substantial bolt engagingY ledge extending.:.about the-head, the latch i being; mounted ongthe f -apertured plate and includingy av boltportion adapted to engage the ledge of the keeperhead inlockinggrelationshipl when the keeperA head penetrates said, apertured plate, theimounting-,member onwhich the stem is` mountedA having a `screw threaded aperture adapted to receive; saidL stem, saidstem having -a screw threaded portion adapted to penetrateY said screwthreadedr aperture, and; a;1o.ck' nuton the screw threadedzportion-,of the-zstem, whereby, when the locknut'is'released from con'- tact with an opposedportion-,of the mounting' memben, said'stem maybe rotatedgfor vertical adjustment by the-insertion of a tool into-the aperture in the head.

'7. Inlocking means for an` automobilev hood having hingedly*A connected members with a latch-part mounting plate on one of the members, a combined centering member and keeper mounted on and vertically adjustable in rel-ation to said plate, said member having atits end an inwardly converging `face and having an adjusting aperture adapted to receive a tool for rotating the keeper, the plate on which the keeper is mounted having a screw threaded aperture adapted to receive said keeper, the keeper including a screw threaded portion adapted to penetrate said screw threaded aperture, and a locknut on the screw threaded portion of the keeper adapted for locking engagement with an opposed face of said plate.

8. In locking means for an automobile hood having hingedly connected members, with latchhaving a portion adjacent the outer end of the stem of substantially greater diameter than the head, and having an inwardly converging face and an adjusting aperture, adapted to receive a tool for rotating the stem, the mounting member on which said stem is mounted having a screw threaded aperture adapted tov receive said stem, said stem having a screw threaded portion adapted to penetrate said screw threaded aperture, and a locknut on the screw threaded portion of said stem, whereby, when said locknut is released from contact with an opposed portion of the mounting member, said stem` may be rotated for vertical adjustment by the insertion of a tool into the aperture in the head.

9. In a vehicle hood latch assembly for a movable hood having a latch and a keeper, a pair of transversely extending mounting members, one mounted on the hood and the other on a stati'onary part of the vehicle, said mounting members being adjacent and superposed when the Y hood is closed, the keeper having means for mounting it for generally vertical adjustment in relation to one mounting member, the other having an aperture to receive it, said keeper including a stem and an inwardly beveled head having a shoulder, the head having an adjusting aperture adapted to receive a'tool for rotating the stem, the shouldered vpart of the head being of"substantially greater diameterthan the stem and providing a substantial bolt engaging ledge extending about the head, the latch being mounted on the apertured plate and including a bolt portion adapted to engage the ledge of the keeper head in locking relationship when the keeper head penetrates said apertured plate, the mounting member on which the stem is mounted having a screw threaded aperture adapted to reeeive said stem, said stem having a screw threaded portion adapted to penetrate said screw threaded aperture, and a looknut on the screw threaded portion of the stem, whereby, when the locknut is released from contact with an opposed portion of the mounting member, said stem may be rotated for vertical adjustment by the insertion of a tool into the aperture in the head.

10. In locking means for an automobile hood having hingedly connected members, with a latch-part mounting element on one of said members, a combined centering member and keeper mounted on and rotatably adjustable in relation to said mounting element, said member including a stem and a generally coni@l head having a latch receiving ledge at its base, its outer, free end having a tool receiving aperture adapted for rotating the keeper, a cup guided on and adapted substantially to enclose said head, and having a ilange adapted to abut against said ledge, the depth of said cup being less than the length of said head from sai-d ledge to the outer free end of the head, said aperture being clear of said cup, and exposed, at all positions of the cup, and yielding means normally tending to seat said cup against said ledge, and about said head, said stem being in screw threaded engagement with said latch-part mounting element.

11. In locking means for an automobile hood having hingedly connected members, with a latch-part mounting element on one of said members, a combined centering member and keeper mounted on and rotatably adjustable in relation to Vsaid mounting element, said member including a stem and a generally conic head having a latch receiving ledge at its base, its outer, free end having a tool receiving aperture adapted for rotating the keeper, a cup guided on and adapted substantially to enclose said head, and having a flange adapted to abut against said ledge, the depth of said cup being less than the length of said head from said ledge to the outer free end of the head, said aperture being clear of said cup, and exposed, at all positions of the cup, and yielding means normally tending to seat said cup against said ledge, and about said head, said stem being in screw threaded engagement with said latch-part mounting element, and means for locking it against unintended rotation in relation thereto. Y

12. In locking means for an automobile hood having hingedly connected members, with a latch-part mounting element on one of said members, a combined centering member and keeper mounted on and rotatably adjustable in relation to said mounting element, and means for vlocking it against unintended rotation, said member including a stem and a generally conic head having a latch receiving ledge at its base, its outer, free end having a tool receiving aperture adapted for rotating the keeper, a cup guided on and adapted substantially to enclose said head, and having a ange adapted to abut against said ledge, the depth of said cup being less than the length of said head from saidv ledge to the outer free end of the head, said aperture being clear of said cup, and exposed, at all positions of the cup, and yielding means normally tending to seat said cup against said ledge, and about said head.

WALTER H. KRAUSE. 

